THE IMPACT OF FAMILY-SIZE ON WEALTH-ACCUMULATION IN RURAL THAILAND

An analysis of survey and focus-group data collected in 1988 in two rural sites in Thailand indicates that couples with few children are better able to accumulate wealth than those with larger numbers of children. The study is based on partly matched samples of couples in intact marriages who began their childbearing during the 1960s or early 1970s. Family size is inversely related to accumulated wealth, as measured by consumer goods acquired, savings and quality of housing. These associations persist after other important determinants of the household's wealth level, including the couple's economic status during the early stages of the family-building process, have been controlled. Couples' perceptions of the impact of family size on their economic welfare largely agree with the objective findings from the survey analysis.